I have a Gemeinhardt M2 and want to buy a step-up flute, maybe a Yamaha 371. The current model is the Allegro YFL-371HIIAL but I wonder if I might prefer the discontinued YFL-371 because it has a C foot. Can anyone tell me how much extra extra length and weight a B foot adds? Does this throw off the balance?

I have trouble with high E so I'm very interested in trying the split E mechanism but I read that some people think a B foot negatively affects the high notes. Do you agree? If so, does it affect the ease of playing the notes or the tone?
Bob Simon

I had a b foot on my 1st Yamaha upgrade and a b foot on my current miyazawa and i've never noticed a difference in weight or on the production of my high register. You rarely need to use a low b, but i wouldn't let it deter you from a nice instrument. My recommendation is try it and see if you like it!

A good alterntive is to buy an used flute from Nancy:
http://www.flutestar.com/Usedflutes.html

Go for b foot, you may need this note sometimes, go for silver sterling flute the 400 models. Offset is preferable. Don't need split mechanism on a higher quality flute.

Thanks for the replies. Over the past month, I've continued to ask advice from a variety of people and have been surprised by the number of folks that specifically recommended the Azumi AZ2 to me. Used models are rare and since this will most likely be the last flute I ever buy, I'm about ready to purchase a new one even though it will cost about three times the going rate for a used Yamaha step-up flute on eBay. I'm mostly over the sticker shock already and will probably purchase soon. And with a new instrument, I presume I won't have to worry about pads or adjustments for a year.

Hello,
I am looking for a Bigio Flute and would like to know if any used flutes are available and what I would expect to pay if one became available. I have been looking for some time and never have seen one for sale.

As I imagine you know, Bigio sells headjoints for around $1000 -- http://www.bigio.com/headjoints.htm.